Heishi No Za Chumon (Soldiers of the Order)
Background The Heishi No Za Chumon or Soldiers of the Order was a male-only military organization serving the Hito No Sono Chikara (People of the Force). Highly dedicated and highly trained, Soldiers of the Order functioned both as Federal Law Enforcement and as the Armed Services of the People of the Force. In history, Soldiers of the Order---also known simply as the Order---could be related to Samurai, Knights, and Ninjas. Their traditional headquarters and training center was the Shiro (Castle), located on Homu Sekai. The Order ceased existence after the events of the Sono Hanran No Sono Hito (The Rebellion of the People). What scattered members remained of the Order, fled into the mountains and became the Erito after the Akodo No Sono Rekishi (Accords of the History). Decades later, after the Chiss Ascendancy attacked the Order's home world of Homu Sekai, what few remnants of the Order and refuges broke through the Chiss blockade and were eventually rescued by the Kingdom of Jod sometime after Order 66 and the Clone Wars. Under the Jod, the Erito would become known as Elite and serve the Church of Jod, in which, they serve to this day. Training Training started at the age of five (5) and went to the age of seventeen (17). All training was overseen by the 12 Masters (Judan 10th Degree Black Belts) on the Council of War; each Master oversaw a minimal of 3 classes a day for 5 days a week (Beginner, Intermediate, Advance). The Master of the Order personally trained all Master(s)-at-Training & Masters at classes 2 days a week (on Saturdays & Sundays). Beginner classes lasted from age 5 to age 9, while Intermediate classes lasted from age 10 to age 14, and Advance classes lasted from age 15 to age 17. Upon graduation, an Advanced learner was promoted to Soldier of the Order after completing their Test of Fate in front of the Master of the Order. Once graduated, all Soldiers of the Order were required to do by-monthly refresher courses and training before the Council of War on Sundays. One could return to the Council of War and accept permission to start training as a Master-at-Training; permission was granted after a through review of a Soldier's training, service record, at least 50 years in the field working, and the Master of the Order's personal blessing. Those who fail training are kicked out of the Order and returned to civilian life. Sadly, Seppuku runs as high as 68% in those that fail the training, normally out of guilt and shame of failure. Martial Arts Their training was second-to-none and all were trained in both Ninjutsu & Kung Fu as a basic foundation. Graduation requirements were a Shichidan (7th degree) Black Belt for both Ninjutsu & Kung Fu. Weapons Training Additional schooling included extensive training and expertise in melee weapons, bow & arrow, crossbow, and slugthrowers, blasters, & laser rifles. Vehicle Training Driving and piloting skills including groundcars, armored groundcars, hovercraft, repulsorcraft, airspeeders, & starships. Recruits had to not only show mastery of the generally used driving & piloting mechanisims found on most of these craft, they also had to be expert drivers & pilots themselves in driving and in flight. Additionally, all Soldiers of the Order were required to have a basic understanding and ability to do minor and general in-field mechanical repairs of their vehicles and craft if need be. Academic Training It was a requirement for all recruits to be well-versed in history of warfare, political science, global studies, international studies, law, communication studies, and intelligence assessment. While it is unknown the level-of-academic knowledge for each study, it is generally considered Master Degree on all subjects listed above. Rigid basic academic training begins at age 5, while university-level education begins at age 10. Beginnings As retold by Tora Senshi... "Many hundreds of years before I was born, my people were a warlike people. We fought and killed each other for control of land in our own Clans. Alliances were formed and broken. Leaders put on thrones and taken down from thrones in blood. Families rose to power and were utterly assassinated by rival clans. My people became masterful warriors through the shedding of their own blood. At some point, the Heiwa Keiyaku ''(Peace Agreement) was declared, after hundreds of years of clan warfare. We became a peaceful people, turning our weapons into plows and our warriors into farmers. Our military leaders became historians and professors and we put family and country in front of clan names. We declared an Emperor of All, had a Ruling Council made up of one representative from all of the Clans, and had a Caste System: workers, inventors, teachers, thinkers, philosophers, scholars, clergy, healers...and warriors. "Afraid that our past would overcome our warriors, a strict system was put in place for our warriors and we called it the Heishi No Za Chumon (Soldiers of the Order) or Soldiers of the Order. The greatest military leader---and most honorable and moral man---of our warrior clan days, we declared him Master of the Order. Under the Master, several other military leaders of our warrior days were called to be the Council of War; to be on the Council or be elected as the Master of the Order, you had to be a warrior above reproach, a man dedicated to peace and honor, but a man that would not hesitate to bring the sword to the enemy when the time came. Together, these twelve men were the keepers of our military knowledge and our bloody history. It was forbidden for anyone, even the Emperor himself, to know what the Master and the Council knew. Our law enforcement and our standing military were all put together into the Heishi No Za Oda. Much like, I would imagine, your Jedi Order was here, back in the days of the Galactic Republic. "For generations, our culture and our society reformed itself. No visitors came to our world. We were able to develop as we desired; soon, cart and horse gave way to the vehicle. Villages were replaced by skyscrapers. But still, our people were a peaceful people. Our bloody people's past was forgotten, only retained by the Master of the Order and the Council of War. A way of peace was all we knew, was all we wanted. But in time, even the noblest of pursuits encounters darkness. The human heart, Jedi Master Zat, cannot be trusted." The Fall ''As retold by Tora Senshi... "Several generations before I was born," He had emptied out the footlocker to an array of clothing, small items, and old pictures, but still one item remained in the footlocker, covered by a piece of cloth, "Our people had become a technology driven people, although we still had yet to travel off our planet in starships, mostly because the Emperor of All and the Ruling Council forbid such actions in fear that it would be bring outsiders to our planet. The Heishi No Za Chumon (Soldiers of the Order) were still the protectors of our world, of our people. But as I said Master Zat, even the noblest of pursuits eventually encounters darkness. "With technology comes business, with business comes money. With money, comes the evilness of the human heart. The Heishi No Za Chumon knew of the corruption of businessmen in our society and they did their best throughout the years to limit it, to combat it; for many of the businessman had armed thugs, ran underground illegal businesses for drugs, and even had sex and slave trafficking. Our once noble streets and lively gardens turned into streets of despair and prostitution and of evil. For hundreds of years now, the Soldiers of the Order had been the guardians of peace and justice on our world, much like your Jedi Order. But now, even the Council and the Master could not stop the progression of darkness. For generations, our people pursed the highest calling, the most noblest of pursuits, and the Heishi No Za Chumon protected our people. But now, big business started to rule over all and soon, businessmen found their way into the Ruling Council and then, the Emperor's personal advisers. "Soon, the Soldiers of the Order were outlawed, viewed as a 'controlling body of old money that sought to derail our people's progress'. We had our supporters, our enemies had theirs. Soon, Sono Hanran No Sono Hito (The Rebellion of the People) begun. Once peaceful farmers turned in their plows for weapons, their historians and professors became military leaders, and family and country were replaced by clan names. Soon, they hunted us down, killed our warriors. We did not fight back. We knew the people were being lied to and we could not kill the very people we pledged to protect with our lives. So we allowed them to take our lives. Be bowed and our heads were chopped off; we knelt and swords were thrust through our chest; we laid our weapons down and our hands were cut off; we spoke peace and our tongues were cut out. "At seeing the honor and respect we showed our killers, that we showed the people we pledged to protect, a group of businessmen---of good and moral businessmen who did not share in the evil practices of their counterparts---approached the Emperor and pleaded with him to stop the bloodshed. Seeing the evidence before his eyes, the Emperor had the violence stop. To have the armies that roamed the planet to put their weapons down. Lied to about the Soldiers of the Order, the Emperor vowed to have those in his most trusted advisers that lied to him found out and killed for their treason and any that associated with them. But the damage had been done to us, to the Soldiers of the Order. Our numbers were too few, the corruption too great in the world. Although the Emperor pleaded with our remaining ranks to join him once again, our Master and the Council declared the great Akodo No Sono Rekishi (Accords of the History)..." Accords of the History & Modern History As retold by Tora Senshi... "The Akodo No Sono Rekishi?" Zat repeated as the word hung in the air from "He". "Accords of the History," Tora said in Basic, "The Master and Council had decided that someone had betrayed the most sacred history of our people's bloodied past and delivered it upon the people to carry out our extinction and that this wrongdoing was so deep, so through and planned, that the Soldiers of the Order leadership had decided that we could no longer effectively act as the policing and military body of our people. In effect, the people would have to learn through their own history, through their own decisions, what best served them. So thus, the Heishi No Za Chumon retreated into the mountains and we shut our doors to the public. In secret, we served the Emperor and the Emperor alone as his newly formed Erito, serving as the protectors of peace and justice as we once did. "Our traditional clothing were replaced with suits and sunglasses sealed to our faces to prevent removal and to protect our eyes from identification. While to the public we served as the Emperor's bodyguard, to the Emperor, we served as his secret police, as the body of protectors that dealt with crime at any and all cost away and separate from the standing military that was formed to replace the Order. So thus, the Heishi No Za Chumon became a thing of legend, of myth, as our existence faded from memory and a few appearances---outside of Erito---of us persisted throughout the generations. "In time, the Force too seemed to withdrew whatever mysterious hand of favor it had on our people for so many years and the birth rate with those with blue eyes dropped more and more over the years, as did the Midi-chlorian counts per newborn. Until, one day, it was so rare to find one with blue eyes, that we---now living in the shadows, devoted to stopping the crime and corruption that had so gripped our world and people---would secretly move in and take any newborns from the hospitals with blue eyes, for their Midi-chlorian counts were also high; we wanted to spare them the evil of the world, train and raise them in a better way, so as to give our people a hope and a future. The Force, it seemed, departed from our people, keeping itself only to a select few that we would train as warriors with the sword in one hand and scholars with books in the other hand. With newborn babies disappearing with blue eyes, our legend only grew." Category:Other